R3's Distributed Ledger Software Corda Enters Public Beta

Distributed ledger startup R3 has announced a significant milestone for its signature Corda platform.

According to Richard Gendal Brown, the startup’s architect and CTO, Corda has now moved to its first public beta phase, marking a notable milestone that follows its launch in November 2016. Brown announced the news in a blog post last week, adding that the latest version of the software includes new API documentation and an expanded codebase.

Corda is a distributed ledger platform providing APIs and codes for companies to build up blockchain-like applications, and is aimed at creating more efficiency in existing global financial markets.

As such, the development follows R3’s more than $100m fundraising, announced at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2017 conference, and as more enterprises are seeking to launch live networks using the software.

As reported by CoinDesk, the Japanese financial giant Mizuho Group, intends to use Corda to “digitize documents like letters of credit and bill of lading invoices”, a process it believes can reduce fraud, increase transparency and enhance the shift away from paper records.

Brown also said the Corda development team has been working with members privately to prove Corda, and that the plan is to release the results to the public in the coming months.

While the move into beta phase indicates Corda team’s confidence in its product, Brown indicated that it might be some time before a version 1.0 of the software is available, as the team is working on its ability to commit to future API compatibility.

He explained:

“You will be able to take apps you deploy on 1.0 and migrate them to run on future versions of Corda unchanged … The team doesn’t get to say Corda is at 1.0 until it hits that bar.”